# Hellboy II: coolness, oddness, and Boxed Spoilers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723 "2008-07-08T18:12:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/21 "2008-07-14T13:46:31Z")
[QUOTE=Paranoid Randroid] I felt that the Krauss character was completely unnecessary – precisely what purpose did he her serve? They already had a play-by-the-rules foil; they already had a way to bring the dead back to life for interrogation. The accent was an over-the-top caricature, the same (or nearly) as Macfarlane uses for his fish character in American Dad. [/QUOTE] Macfarlane doesn’t voice Klaus. Dee Bradley Baker does. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/22 "2008-07-14T13:54:57Z")
I’m showing my age here, but I too thought “Hey it’s Calista Flockhart”. The showing my age comes from the prince thought… I saw him in previews and thought, that looks like Ted Danson! ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/23 "2008-07-14T13:59:23Z")
Age? I’ll show you age… When I saw the previews, I said “Okay, Hellboy versus Elric of Melnibone.” ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/24 "2008-07-14T14:32:07Z")
I thought Manning was wasted as a character, which means they wasted a great comic actor, Jeffrey Tambor. At the end of the first movie, it looked like he and Hellboy were reaching a level of mutual respect that made them capable of a working relationship in spite of their differences; that seemed to regress to a more simplistic level, with Manning reduced to a caricature. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/25 "2008-07-14T14:35:13Z")
Well, I’m a dumbass. I told my girlfriend that in the first movie, Abe had been voiced by David Hyde Pierce; but apparently it’s always been Doug Jones. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/26 "2008-07-14T14:47:44Z")
Oops, ignore me. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/27 "2008-07-14T14:59:47Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Well, I’m a dumbass. I told my girlfriend that in the first movie, Abe had been voiced by David Hyde Pierce; but apparently it’s always been Doug Jones. [/QUOTE] I thought the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/28 "2008-07-14T15:11:17Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Well, I’m a dumbass. I told my girlfriend that in the first movie, Abe had been voiced by David Hyde Pierce; but apparently it’s always been Doug Jones. [/QUOTE] No, David Hyde Pierce did do the voice in the first movie. He just refused credit for it out of respect for Doug Jones. [Cite.](http://www.horror.com/php/article-1596-1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/29 "2008-07-14T15:15:31Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] Well, I’m a dumbass. I told my girlfriend that in the first movie, Abe had been voiced by David Hyde Pierce; but apparently it’s always been Doug Jones. [/QUOTE] You are not wrong. DHP did the voice in the first movie. This is the first time, as far as I know, that Jones gets to perform the vocals for one of his faceless “suit” roles. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/30 "2008-07-14T15:33:59Z")
I enjoyed the movie a lot. One thing that bugs me is Abe’s breathing apparatus and how he stops needing it for no good reason half way through the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/31 "2008-07-14T16:18:12Z")
I liked the first installment but not this second go-around. The script and story line were too self-indulgent and bloated with extraneous themes/characters/events for my taste, and the only people in the theater who seemed to be getting a lot of mileage out of the humor were those who had a certain…fanboy aura. Maybe this one required more insider knowledge to enjoy? I enjoyed the physical comedy and the fireside scene with Abe, but beyond that it fell flat for me. The handful of puzzling inconsistencies in the story that have already been mentioned in the thread were just the tip of the iceberg, IMO. I think it’s a good example of the lack of focus that can result when the same person writes and directs a film. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/32 "2008-07-14T16:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=Figaro] I liked the first installment but not this second go-around. The script and story line were too self-indulgent and bloated with extraneous themes/characters/events for my taste, and the only people in the theater who seemed to be getting a lot of mileage out of the humor were those who had a certain…fanboy aura. Maybe this one required more insider knowledge to enjoy? I enjoyed the physical comedy and the fireside scene with Abe, but beyond that it fell flat for me. The handful of puzzling inconsistencies in the story that have already been mentioned in the thread were just the tip of the iceberg, IMO. I think it’s a good example of the lack of focus that can result when the same person writes and directs a film. [/QUOTE] I don’t think the fanboy aspect was required. I don’t read comic books and barely remember the first movie. I was even a little put off by the use of the names for members of the Tuatha Dé Danann and not caring how they got jumbled together. I still enjoyed the movie and laughed at all but one horrible glaring musical joke. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/33 "2008-07-14T16:33:20Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I don’t think the fanboy aspect was required. I don’t read comic books and barely remember the first movie. I was even a little put off by the use of the names for members of the Tuatha Dé Danann and not caring how they got jumbled together. I still enjoyed the movie and laughed at all but one horrible glaring musical joke. 😉 [/QUOTE] That may have been the joke I liked! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/34 "2008-07-14T17:11:45Z")
[QUOTE=Love Rhombus] Sorry, this bit just annoys me slightly. Geek knee-jerk reaction, I guess. [/QUOTE] I was going to post the exact same thing. Comic books are just as valid a medium as any other, which means that they should be held to the exact same standards of logic and cohereance as anything else. Ignoring nonsensical parts of the movie just because it was based on a comic book makes it sound like comic books are so hopelessly sophomoric that we can’t expect them to meet the rigors of other art forms. Now, it would make sense to hand-wave away some of the sillier aspects of the movie because of _genre_. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/35 "2008-07-14T18:18:13Z")
Ok, what the hell? The movie was ludicrously nonsensical, full of cliches, horribly predictable and just felt like a bunch of crap stuck together. I cannot for the life of me understand how it is rated so highly on IMDB and Rottentomatoes. Truly, WHAT THE HELL?? I spent the entire movie rolling my eyes and shooting “what the hell?” glances at my date which were returned time and time again so I know I’m not crazy. The plot of the movie was just horrible, horrible! The characters were mediocre at best. Hellboy acted like a self-centered retard, the fishman was a sickening C3PO cliche, fire lady was utterly forgettable, smokebowl dude was ok. Whiny Boss was utterly unbelievable and caricatural (loved him in Arrested Development). I’m sorry, I like superhero movies, fantasy movies and cartoons and I didn’t expect brilliance from this movie but it was a huge, huge disappointment and anyone who enjoyed it should feel ashamed. ASHAMED! The opening of the movie was very good. I liked it. Everything since that moment was bleh. To repeat: that movie didn’t make sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/36 "2008-07-14T19:33:40Z")
I went into it expecting big dumb beautiful fun. That’s what I got. No, it didn’t make sense. I didn’t go into it expecting it to make sense. I basically wanted some gorgeous action sequences strung together with some goofy dialogue and just barely enough plot to be able to follow what was going on. That’s what I got. I also got some immensely creative monsters. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/37 "2008-07-14T19:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] I thought Manning was wasted as a character, which means they wasted a great comic actor, Jeffrey Tambor. At the end of the first movie, it looked like he and Hellboy were reaching a level of mutual respect that made them capable of a working relationship in spite of their differences; that seemed to regress to a more simplistic level, with Manning reduced to a caricature. [/QUOTE] I’ll second this. Just last night, FX showed the first movie, and I caught the scene where Manning shows Hellboy how to preserve the flavor of his cigars with a wooden match. At that point, you can see a grudging, “Okay, you’re still a jackass, but we’ve found some common ground here,” thing pass between them. But, by the time **Hellboy II** comes around, it’s all gone and forgotten. I admit that I too missed David Hyde Pierce’s voice and found his absence very jarring. The troll market was good, but very visually confusing; the screen was so filled with strange stuff it was hard to keep track of the action at times. Overall, I liked the first movie better, but it was at least above average. I did like the villain, and just now I looked him up on IMDb. Turns out he played another villain I liked, Nomak in **Blade II** , which also featured Ron Perlman. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/38 "2008-07-14T20:03:37Z")
[QUOTE=Gozu] I’m sorry, I like superhero movies, fantasy movies and cartoons and I didn’t expect brilliance from this movie but it was a huge, huge disappointment and anyone who enjoyed it should feel ashamed. ASHAMED! [/QUOTE] Nope. I refuse to feel ashamed for enjoying a popcorn movie that I went to see primarily for del Toro’s cool creatures. Sure, it wasn’t \*Pan’s Labyrinth \*, but I’ve got room in my life for both brie and Doritos. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/39 "2008-07-14T20:11:50Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] I did like the villain, and just now I looked him up on IMDb. Turns out he played another villain I liked, Nomak in **Blade II** , which also featured Ron Perlman. [/QUOTE] And which was also directed by GdT. In addition to the good stuff mentioned by **LHoD** and others, I also appreciated the careful attention to the mythological backdrop. I like a movie that invents its own mythology and yet respects the structure of the Campbellian ur-Myth. Very smart stuff behind the scenes, even if some of the surface is more than a little doofy. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723/40 "2008-07-16T20:18:33Z")
I have to say the movie’s main selling point was the sheer sense of supernatural wonder in the visuals that was largely missing from this year’s Hulk, Narnia and Indiana Jones movies. Truly spectacular and exactingly rendered, with some marvelous new creatures that didn’t merely seem like tired retreads of what we’ve seen before. I didn’t like that two main characters thought their own personal love lives were more important than the fate of the world (whatever happened to a little heroic self-sacrifice?), but overall I liked it better than the first film even though it is a bit of a mess. FTR, Doug Jones also plays the Chancellor and the Angel of Death (both quite memorably) [QUOTE=CandidGamera] Macfarlane doesn’t voice Klaus. Dee Bradley Baker does. [/QUOTE] Not according to the [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411477/fullcredits#cast). Oh, and the OP should know that Del Toro directed the first _Hellboy_, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-ii-coolness-oddness-and-boxed-spoilers/455723.md?page=3)